1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to optical monitoring and imaging.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Contemporary medical technology uses x-rays, sound waves, and visible light to produce in vivo images of biological tissues. Visible light and infrared (IR) light imaging has a better potential resolution than imaging produced by sound waves, because visible and IR light has a shorter wavelength than sound waves. In spite of this advantage of visible and IR light, in vivo imaging systems often use sound waves, because visible and IR light does not penetrate thick tissues. Consequently, many in vivo imaging systems do not have the image resolutions obtainable in imaging systems based on visible or IR light.
The resolution of in vivo examination systems is also limited by tissue motion. For many organisms internal tissue motions are always present, and these tissue motions interfere with tissue examinations that require more observation time than the time scale associated with the internal tissue motions. The internal tissue motions can cause image scans to produce multiple or smeared images. The internal tissue motions also cause the displacement of probes placed in the tissues. These displacements cause the probes to measure smeared out tissue properties.